The Hip Flexors

The hip flexors
are made up of three different muscles. The Rectus
Femoris, Psoas
Major, and Illiacus.
These muscles work together to help flex the hip,
and to provide stability for the lower extremity.

The
Rectus Femoris is one of the quadriceps muscles, and also helps with
knee extension. The illiopsoas group runs from the lower spine and
pelvis to the femur.

These muscles can be strained
during activities, and can cause pain and loss of motion at the hip.

Causes

The
most common cause of hip flexor injury is acute trauma. You may
experience one specific instance when you felt your hip flexor pull.
This may have been when you broke into a sprint, made a cut, or kicked
a ball.

Tight muscles and poor flexibility will
contribute to hip flexor injury. When muscles are tight, there is an
increased amount of tension on the tissues. When this increased tension
is added to by an explosive movement, injury can occur.

Hip
flexor strain can also be caused by compensation for other injuries, or
weakness of other muscles. This is common if you have core weakness.
When the lower abdominal muscles do not
stabilize the pelvis, the hip
flexor muscles will try to compensate for this weakness and become
overworked.

Symptoms

The most common
symptom of a hip flexor strain is pain. It occurs along the front of
the hip and may radiate down the front of your thigh. Your pain will
increase with movement, especially trying to lift your knee toward your
chest.

Running, jumping, and even walking can be
painful, and your sports performance may be limited.

You
may have a small amount of swelling, but this is not very common.
Muscle spasm and bruising may also occur, depending on how severe the
injury is.

Treatment

If
you have suffered a hip flexor strain, you should see your family
doctor to determine exactly what is wrong. Initial care should focus on
rest, and the use of ice to control the inflammation.

Ice massage or ice packs
work well for this injury. Once your pain begins to subside, after a
few days, you can begin gentle stretching of the hip flexors.

Improving
your flexibility is the key to successful treatment and prevention of
re-injury. Hip flexor injuries can very easily become chronic in
nature, especially if you return to activities too quickly, or fail to
address any flexibility problems.

Prevention

Preventing
hip flexor injury focuses on good flexibility, as well as making sure
you warm up before you go full speed. Warm muscles are much less likely
to be injured. So take the time to warm up and start slowly before you
go all out. A good flexibility program will also help
to reduce the tension on the muscles, and reduce your likelihood for
injury.

Hip Flexor Solutions

Hip flexor injuries have a tendency to become chronic. This is because the rehabilitation
often fails to address the underlying causes of the injury.

In order to completely recover from a hip flexor injury, you must address the mobility,
flexibility, balance, and strength issues that led to your injury. Otherwise, you are
doomed to suffer a recurrence.

Hip Flexor Solutions is a complete program designed to put your body back into balance,
and to address all of the underlying mobility, flexibility, balance and strength deficits.
This program not only will treat your hip flexor injury and reduce your risks for re-injury,
it will also enhance your sports performance. A balanced body is a stronger body,
and Hip Flexor Solutions can give you both!

Summary

Hip
flexor injury can involve any or all of the three hip flexor muscles.
It can occur with explosive movements, or gradually over time. Initial
treatment should focus on rest and the R.I.C.E Principles, as well as
seeing your family doctor. A good flexibility program and proper warm
up is the best way to work to prevent this injury.

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